African American Literacies (review)

The first sole-authored book by Elaine Richardson, this work ‘aims to situate reading and writing within its broader institutional contexts where literacy is considered as a social practice’ (ii). This interdisciplinary work introduces African American (AA) language and cultural practices and argues for the engagement of AA perspectives in the literacy education of AA students. Much of the six-chapter text draws on the development and implementation of R’s own experimental college writing courses.

The introduction presents R’s personal experience as a college writing student and pays tribute to the book that ‘saved’ her life, Geneva Smitherman’s Talkin and Testifyin (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1986), which taught her what is obscured by mainstream education, namely, that African American Vernacular English (AAVE) is a systematic language variety. From there she leads the reader to understand the causes of widespread underachievement of AA students in school; to understand AA language, culture, and literacy; and to develop a pedagogical approach that will improve academic success.

Ch. 1 responds to mainstream efforts to alleviate poor academic performance by nonmainstream students. Focusing solely on mainstream practices, these approaches, she writes, fail to acknowledge two problems. First, literacy practices are incorrectly assumed to be free of culture and power politics, and second, mainstream approaches are biased against nonmainstream students, often promoting values that are at odds with the backgrounds of these students. R discusses alternative approaches that require teachers to be familiar with the differences between AAVE and the standard dialect, and social pressures that continue to thwart these efforts. Ch. 2 treats the development of AAVE and AA literacy (from the first Africans at Jamestown to hip hop) through varying climates of oppression, outlining the ways in which African Americans have been mistrusted, outlawed, segregated, ignored, and viewed as dysfunctional by mainstream America. Ch. 3 is dedicated to various issues of AA female literacies, including an expansion of the scope of literacy beyond writing to include ‘ways of knowing and acting’ and performance arts ‘that help females to advance and protect themselves and their loved ones’ (77).

Chs. 4–6 are focused on the author’s experimental college writing courses, discussing the underlying pedagogical theories, course assignments, and results. The curriculum involves, for example, analysis of AA writings, as well as discussions of linguistic differences in public and private space and the sociocultural construction of race. Though the effectiveness of this curriculum is demonstrated, it is also met with some resistance. R stresses that her approach does not erase mainstream perspectives and points out that this resistance reveals the need for incorporating different perspectives in all levels of education.

This book is admirable in many respects. The text is accessible to audiences beyond social scientists. The ideas presented here will benefit not only those interested in AA language issues and the AA experience, but also anyone concerned with multicultural issues in education. Finally, the author boldly challenges deep-rooted, dominant ideologies through recognition of nonstandard practices and nontraditional, pluralistic views of literacy.